Category: Leadership

Confidence comes from ‘Thinking for yourself’. It’s a tough one as many things influence us from our early childhood, our temperament, our experiences. The human is a complex being and who am I to really comment?

Because sometimes our mind tricks us, fogs our brains and leads our minds astray. I know. I’ve been in that thick dense fog and it can be devilishly hard to find your way out. No matter how much advice and support you receive, each of us has our own ‘inner schedule’ and until we have processed something sufficiently, whatever it is, the way out and way forward will inevitably elude us. That’s because we are human.

At work and in our personal lives we reach crossroads. Situations arise we feel unable to handle. And what stops us moving on? Yep. Got it in one. BUT HOLD ON. That’s making the assumption that fear is a bad thing.

Facing up to fear, to anxiety. To addressing something head-on takes courage and the harder the challenge, the braver one has to be.

So pushing through that fear makes the achievement all the greater, The every act of making a decision will alleviate the anxiety because whatever the outcome, you have taken control by making a decision. Taking control means you have accepted the responsibility and this represents a shift in power.

This week I’m going to be working with a new group. They are young, about to enter a new phase of their lives and there is so much opportunity to tempt them, challenge them, test and teach them. But only if they recognise the freedom that thinking for oneself brings. Life really is the most amazing, most challenging teacher of all.

Happenstance ?

When you have three young CEO’s, one who works on water, one who understands Sentiment and one who optimizes health and leverages technology for the greater good, we’ll be as challenged in our beliefs as our assumptions are challenged, just as they have been. I hadn’t planned to bring three guys together, pure happenstance!

Sometimes, you’ve got to take a stand and question whether current thinking is perhaps a little warped – or still works

Sometimes it is not enough to ‘go with the flow, to feel you’ve met the brief, ticked all the boxes.

Sometimes you have to question the decisions you’ve made and continue to make and maybe re-evaluate if you’re getting the best outcomes from the decisions you’re making – which generally…. are being made using our past experiences and may not be reflecting current needs.

This day in two weeks time, we’re doing just that and getting to hear what some of today’s younger CEO’s are thinking. And we’re getting a male perspective too.

What does human centric really mean in the mindset of emerging leaders?